Friday, June 26th marked my last day of employment at PRHCN. Although the day was routine as far as clinic goes, there were some variances. I only saw patients for a “half day”. This half day started at 8am and ended at 6:30. This half day included a rare lunch break in order to enjoy a going away potluck with beloved staff. This half day only included 6 hours of patient care time, and the remaining 4 hours were spent in front of the computer documenting visits, answering emails, addressing labs and of course coding and billing. I thought the same thing I have thought countless times over the course of my career: “This would be the best job in the world if it could end when the patient care was done.” Despite the oddities of this day, things generally felt very mundane and very representative of most of my clinic days. The sadness of leaving beloved people behind was offset by the relief of leaving a job that is mired in busywork and bureaucracy. Feeling of hope, excitement, and relief all stew inside of me as I plan for a more patient and doctor friendly way of doing things.
Once I finally logged off the computer, I rushed home to prep for our fantastic 4 day back country hiking trip. Keith and I have never once gotten packed and on the road as early as we would hope with any trip we have ever taken. There are always patients to see, labs to follow up on, more stuff to pack than we bargained for, uncooperative kids, etc etc. This day was no different, but alas we made it. The girls were motived by their excitement, and within a few hours my husband, my two 8 year old daughters, my 15 month old son, and I managed to embark on a 4 day back country excursion. Knowing that we would have our hands full, we wisely hired a guide service to help us make the trip happen. Thanks to Raz and his llamas, we had an extraordinary trip. Our family really enjoyed the lack of electronic devices. The kids never once got bored even though we did not bring a single thing to do. As much as I enjoyed the trip though, my head was spinning much of the time with all that I wanted to get done in order to get DawnMD up and running. And now that we are back, I cannot get the tasks done quickly enough.
Our first task was moving into our space. Once again, Keith has demonstrated his many helpful talents, this time as a mover. I am antsy to get to seeing patients again. I have just the bare bones in the clinic, but that is all I need for much of what I do. I have my brain, my hands, my education, my experiences, and I have a space to see people. My hard opening isn’t until September 1, but I am here for anyone who has questions, needs advice, or wants to squeeze in an early visit! I feel so appreciative of all the support I have had to get me this far, and I am really excited to this thing grow and flourish.